Actor-director Mel Gibson issued an apology today for his drunk driving arrest yesterday and for what he described as “despicable” statements he made to the arresting deputies who detained him on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

As WorldNetDaily reported, Gibson was pulled over and given a breathalyzer test at 2:36 a.m. by a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff. The test indicated Gibson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, 50 percent above California’s 0.08-percent limit.

“He was going 87 miles per hour in a 45-miles-per-hour zone,” a sheriff’s spokesman said.

TMZ.com, an entertainment-focused website, reported today that Gibson’s arrest had been far more eventful than originally indicated by the sheriff’s department.

According to its report, Gibson – initially cooperative – resisted arrest and had to be forcibly restrained and handcuffed by Deputy James Mee before he could be placed in the patrol car.

A distraught Gibson repeatedly said, “My life is f****d.”

Gibson reportedly banged himself against the seat, yelling threats at Mee: “You mother f****r. I’m going to f*** you.” The purported field-arrest report reads, “Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he ‘owns Malibu’ and will spend all of his money to ‘get even’ with me.”

Gibson then reportedly began making anti-Semitic statements: “F*****g Jews … The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” He then asked the deputy, “Are you a Jew?”

The encounter was audiotaped by Mee, according to the TMZ report.

Gibson also reportedly made a lewd comment to a female sergeant on the scene and had to be admonished that he could be charged with felony vandalism for slamming a telephone receiver at the detention facility.

Harvey Levin, managing editor of TMZ.com, has accused the L.A. Sheriff’s Department of covering up for Gibson by initially reporting that the arrest had been “without incident.”

Deputy Mee, Levin charged, was ordered to “sanitize” his report of the arrest to remove references to Gibson’s anti-Semitic remarks. TMZ.com claims to have a copy of the original report.

According to the Los Angeles Times, sheriff officials are refusing to release Gibson’s arrest mugshot.

“This was a cover up and there’s no way of getting around it,” Levin wrote. “The sheriff said it happened ‘without incident’ and that’s just a blatant lie. Now there’s an official, signed report that does not have the information TMZ has published, so something’s rotten in Denmark.”

Levin, who is also an attorney, is a producer for “Celebrity Justice” and takes comments about cases from onlookers in Times Square on “The People’s Court,” another one of his productions.

Gibson, in his statement today, said:

”After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the L.A. County sheriff’s. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person.

”I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said and I apologize to anyone who I have offended.

”Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry.

”I have battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health.”

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